Conference Planning Checklist
Table of Contents
9 Months Before
Seek co-sponsorship.
Prepare a planning calendar.
Recruit volunteers.
Check budget and provide a cost projection sheet.
Determine publicity/advertising schedule and call for papers.
Determine which hotel your guests will be staying during the conference.
Create a website for your conference.
Set-up the registration link on the conference website.
Create advertising brochures and call for papers.
Advertise conference to potential exhibitors of interest.
6 Months Before
Begin to finalize the Program Schedule.
Determine number of brochures needed for handouts and mailing.
Contact speakers and request vita, address and phone number, biography and head shot photo for publicity of.
4 Months Before
Meet with catering, facilities, media services, and conference services to go over the final details.
Consider hiring students to staff your events.
Finalize the Program Schedule.
Draft Conference Program.
Update budget.
Finalize A/V equipment needs with media services.
Announce the conference.
Go live for online registration and payment.
Determine the types of giveaways if any.
Order your gifts.
2 Months Before
Finalize guest list.
Confirm needs for registered exhibitors.
Produce printed program and get schedule to PR.
Produce conference poster, if appropriate.
Schedule all table and chairs needed.
1 Month Before
Finalize details and administrative responsibilities for the conference.
Obtain local maps and information.
Confirm catering, facilities, and media.
Request honorarium for speakers.
2 Weeks Before
For main speakers - email/letter should include complete, specific schedule of the speaker(s).
For registered participants - include map, shuttle schedule, and registration times for the participant's arrival at the conference.
For session chairs/introducers - include time of session, CV of presenter(s).
1 Week Before
Assemble name tags.
Assemble registration listing of participants.
Consider sending welcome letters and agenda to the hotel for distribution upon check-in.
Double check arrangements: confirm room reservations, particularly for afterhours or weekend times.
After the Conference
Send thank you notes to all who helped with the conference.
Finalize financial settlements for all speakers.
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Presented by:
Jake R Brady
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Introduction
Who it's for
This Conference Planning Checklist is for teams that want consistent execution, less rework, and clear ownership.
- Standardize quality - run the same Conference Planning steps every time, regardless of who executes
- Save time - reuse a proven Conference Planning workflow instead of rebuilding processes from scratch
- Improve accountability - assign owners and see what's done vs. what's pending
- Onboard faster - use the Conference Planning checklist as the SOP and training guide
- Coordinate across roles - handoffs are clear and everyone works from the same source of truth
How to use it
How to use this Conference Planning Checklist:
- Start by saving it - save as a Template if you'll reuse it, or as a Checklist if it's a one-off project.
- Customize it once for your workflow - remove what doesn't apply and add your team-specific steps.
- Assign ownership and execute - set owners/due dates where needed and track completion as work happens.
- Reuse without rebuilding - when Conference Planning comes up again, start from your saved version and run it with clear ownership.